Cardyn Brooks's Blog, page 14

TWWBF2022 Swag-alicious Perks + More!

 

Less than 2 weeks until TWWBF2022! The 4th annual The Write Women Book Fest is on (rain or shine) on Saturday, October 8 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. on the grounds of Marietta House Museum, 5626 Bell Station Road, Glenn Dale, Maryland 20769. https://www.thewritewomenbookfest.org/ 

Come enjoy this FREE event! So many talented authors, poets, craftspeople, musicians, the Prince George's County Memorial Library System, Maryland Romance Writers, a kids tent, baked goods, coffee, free swag bags* to the first 50 guests and more, more, more. 
Many, many thanks to the regular Saturday farmers market and food trucks for making themselves available to the book fest attendees! 
[Authors Sylvia Day & Karin Tabke generously provided swag even though they are NOT participating TWWBF2022 authors. They're on our wish list.;-)]  
*The Blerdy Binge Reader blog tote and T-shirt are not part of the giveaways but were created by generous and gifted event founder Heather Brooks as a lovely surprise for me in support of my book reviewing endeavors and they're too awesome not to share! https://www.customizedgirl.com/ 

4th Annual The Write Women Book Fest is 1 Month (Or So) Away!

 

[Ebooks shown were borrowed from TWWBF2022 Partner Prince George's County Memorial Library System and from Anne Arundel County Library System via OverDrive.] 

Come to the Author/Poet/Publishing/Artisan/Foodie/Music/Books-pa-looza on the grounds of Marietta House in Glenn Dale, Maryland on Saturday, October 8 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. 

It's FREE TO ATTEND! https://www.thewritewomenbookfest.org/

Fiction romance authors Golden Angel * C. Rose Dahl * Britt Delaney * M.K. Hale * Mae Harden * Emmy Lou Hayes (erotica) * Lang Johnson * B.K. Lockamy * K. McCoy * Natalina Reis * Katherine Rhodes * Alyssa Roberts * L.C. Son * Nancy C. Weeks * Erin Wright (TWWBF2022 Keynote Speaker) * Aria Wyatt 
scifi, fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, speculative Marissa D'Angelo * Amy L. Bernstein * K.M. Bishop * T.L. Ford * E.R. Griffin * Karen Janowsky * A.L. Kaplan * Alexis C. Maness * Claudine Marcin * Aline P. Mora * Leslye Penelope * Cherease Richardson *  Jaimie N. Schock * Dea Schofield * L.C. Son * Sula Sullivan 
more genres Kat Caldwell * Courtney N. Foster * Tracee Garner * D.A. Jennings * Kathy Kasunich * K.R. Raye * Donna Koros Stramella * Jacqueline P. Walker 
Non-fiction cookbooks, memoirs, haircare, self-help, grief & more Jamala Murray Arland * Patricia Crews * Dr. Ophera Davis * Jackie Hilton * Jill Homiak *  Keianna Johnson * Miko Marsh * Dr. Karyne Messina * Mary B. Patterson * Dr. LaTanya Wilkins * Tanerra Willis * Carolyn Wilson 
Kid Lit 
Angela Ayres * Ingrid Bough * Cheryl W. Brooks * Elle Cole * Re'Shae N. Green * Julia Inserro * D.A. Jennings * Kim C. Lee * D'manda Martini * Paula Murrain * Morenike Euba Oyenusi * Shanequa Waison-Rattray * Jamila Romero * Joanne Sanders * Jennifer Schick * Chaundra Scott * MJ Silver * Rachelle Jones Smith * Raecheal Ware - Enchanted Children Castle 
Poetry 
Patti "Little Pi" Ross (EC Poetry & Prose + TWWBF2022 MC & Partner) Angela H. Dale * Kari Martindale * Janique Muckelvene * Cherease Richardson * Patrice Smith * Aressa Williams - TWWBF Poet Laureate 
Bookish Services 
Khadijah Butler - Craig D. Butler Scholarship Foundation Kat Caldwell - "Pencils & Lipstick" podcast, The Creative Writing Community, etc. Audrey Hughey - Author Transformation Alliance Jade and Wilnona - The And I Thought Ladies; Inspirational Women in Literature, Media... Christine Johnson - JayMedia Publishing Donna Knutson & Joanne Sanders - editing/writing coachingRobin McCormick - Quill & Co. Nerdy Book Box (TWWBF2022 Partner) Stephanie Rabell - Book and Wine Lovers Marketing Stacie Seidel - writing workshops Lillian Sue - In Retrospect Writing ServicesErin Wright - Wide for the Win (TWWBF2022 Keynote Speaker & Partner) The Writer's Center  Yellow Arrow Publishing 
Draft2Digital IngramSpark Kobo 
Health 
LaNysha Adams - Edlinguist Solutions The GiftUnveiled Dr. Karyne Messina Dr. Tammy McCotter Carolyn Wilson Write Like a Mother - Scribente Maternum 
Artisans, Coffee, Foodies, Organizations 
Barnes & Noble Bookseller at Bowie Town Center in Bowie, MD * Fable Grounds Coffee * The Folkhaus * Girl Scout Troop 81265 * Modern Design Paper Co. * Maryland Romance Writers * Prince George's County Memorial Library System * Rosa Bakes * Silver Quill Studio 
Additional Partners 
Erika McIntyre Editing and Writing * Prince George's County Historical Society * Prince George's County Parks & Recreation  
Extra Special Thanks to the team at Marietta House Museum and the Prince George's Park Police! 

7 Weeks Until TWWBF2022!

 

The 4th annual The Write Women Book Fest is on Saturday, October 8th! You're invited to join us for all kinds of creative bookish, poetic, artistic, musical, foodie fun and more from 12 noon to 5 p.m. on the grounds of Marietta House Museum at 5626 Bell Station Road, Glenn Dale, Maryland 20769. 
It's FREE TO ATTEND. Please request free tickets using this Eventbrite link so we'll know you're coming! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-write-women-book-fest-2022-tickets-288300343087 


Reading (borrowed from Prince George's County Memorial Library System https://pgcmls.info/) that's helped distract me from my event-planning stress: Being Haunted After Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M. Lopez The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston Some of It Was Real by Nan Fischer New Beginnings  The Boardwalk Bookshop by Susan Mallery  Harlem Sunset (early 20th c.) by Nekesa Afia  Twice a Quinceanera by Yamile Saied Mendez Adversaries Join Forces The Accidental Pinup by Danielle JacksonHoney & Spice by Bolu Babalola Stirring Up Love by Chandra Blumberg 
Dangerous Secrets All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris The Book of Not by Tsitsi Dangarembga A Duke for Diana by Sabrina Jeffries Nobody's Princess by Erica Ridley Something Good by Vanessa Miller  

Counting Down to TWWBF2022!

 

The 4th annual The Write Women Book Fest is 8 weeks away! 
More than 100 authors, poets, musicians, artisans, publishing platforms, organizations, local businesses, a kids' tent with story times and more will be on the grounds of Marietta House Museum, 5626 Bell Station Road, Glenn Dale, Maryland 20769 on Saturday, October 8th from 12 noon to 5 p.m. 
IT'S FREE TO ATTEND!  Please use this Eventbrite link to let us know you're coming. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-write-women-book-fest-2022-tickets-288300343087

Hope to see you there! 

Being outreach director and co-host for TWWBF2022 means my reviews are on hiatus until after the event but I'll still post pictures of the books I'm reading for pleasure, stress relief and because it's impossible for me not to read books. 

Black Books Matter Day Saturday 8/6/2022

 

It's a perfect day, week, month, season, year to buy, borrow, loan, trade, swap, read, write, hype and/or review books by and about Black, BIPOC and BAME (because Black people are often multi-ethnic and multi-cultural) people. 
In addition to your local library, here are some independent bookstores that offer an abundance of Black Books Matter reading selections: https://aalbc.com/bookstores/list.php  

Strange Journeys & Unexpected Destinations

Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejide 20th-c. contemporary speculative literary fiction Akashic Books, March 2021 (paperback, July 2022) 
Blurred lines between the living and the dead, reality and fantasy, slumber and consciousness make Nephthys Kinwell's winding routes through Washington, D.C. multifaceted renderings of people who are haunted by their pasts while they seek and decipher clues on how to move forward through grief and disappointment into their purpose. Creatures of Passage slides across and between genres and weaves together heavy themes into a buoyant narrative with the exquisite language and imagery of accessible poetic sensibilities that lifts readers' spirits. 
Free Will or Destiny? The Mutual Friend by Carter Bays contemporary fiction with romantic elements Dutton, June 2022 
Six Degrees of Separation in the age of screen fixation and addiction 
The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen contemporary fiction with romantic elements St. Martin's Press, February 2022 
Calculating more than chemistry  
City of Lights (& Intrigue) Almost Perfect (Cordoba Agency #4) by Delaney Diamond, author & publisher contemporary romance, May 2022 
Fresh thematic mix of To Catch a Thief + The A Team + Undercovers = unlikely allies-to-lovers + family-by-choice  

Royal Messes, Quick Reads & Greater Later + Love

It's Complicated 
American Royalty by Tracey Livesay contemporary romance Avon, June 2022 
Cinder-Nanny by Sariah Wilson contemporary romance Montlake, June 2022  
All the Queen's Men (Her Majesty the Queen investigates #2) by S. J. Bennett contemporary mystery William Morrow, March 2021 
Dukes Do It Better (Misfits of Mayfair #3) by Bethany Bennett historical romance Forever, May 2022 

Family Feuds 
Lucy Yi Is Not a Romantic by Lauren Ho contemporary romantic women's fiction G.P. Putnam's Sons, June 2022 
A Daring Pursuit (Ruthless Rivals #2) by Kate Bateman historical romance St. Martin's Paperbacks, May 2022 
From Bad to Cursed (Witches of Thistle Grove #2) by Lana Harper contemporary supernatural romance Berkley, May 2022 

STEMinists in Love - contemporary romance novellas by Ali Hazelwood Under One Roof Berkley, May 2022 
Stuck With You Berkley, June 2022 
BelowZero Berkley, July 2022  
The Love Hypothesis novel by Ali Hazelwood contemporary romance Penguin, September 2021 
Faking It 
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center contemporary romance St. Martin's Press, July 19, 2022 
Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley contemporary romance Griffin, June 2022 
By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate contemporary romance G.P. Putnam's Sons, March 2022 
The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams contemporary romance Dell, August 2021 

Danger in Paradise 
My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey, author & publisher contemporary mystery romance June, 2022 

Grown Folks Only 
The Second Half: Forty Women Reveal Life After Fifty by Ellen Warner non-fiction Brandeis University Press, January 2022 
Goodbye Again (Wyndham Beach #2) by Mariah Stewart contemporary women's fiction with romance Montlake, February 2022 
Out the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins contemporary women's fiction with romantic elements Berkley, June 2022 

Comforting Canines 
Dog Friendly by Victoria Schade contemporary romance Berkley, June 2022 
Lost, Found & Forever by Victoria Schade contemporary romance Berkley, March 2021 

Who's Your Daddy (Dad, Father, Pops, Papa, Avo, Guncle, Mentor, Role Model...)?

Men + Fur Babies, fiction  The Great Gatz by Lauren Baratz-Logsted & Jackie Logsted 
Ruff and Tumble* by Lucy Gilmore * Please, please, please tell me this is the start of a Seattle Lumberjacks sports romance series! 
Hard Knocks and Victories in the Game of Life, non-fiction  Pass interference: The History of the Black Quarterback in the NFL by Wisdom Martin
Act Like You Got Some Sense, And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me by Jamie Foxx, Corinne Foxx, et al. 

Game, An Autobiography by Grant Hill 
My Seven Black Fathers: A Young Activist's Memoir of Race, Family, and the Mentors Who Made Him Whole by Will Jawando 
A Way Out of No Way: A Memoir of Truth, Transformation, and the New American Story by Rev. Sen. Raphael G. Warnock 
Kid Lit  I'm Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown 
Documentaries  After Jackie  The Story of Trailblazing Black Baseball Players Who Fought for a More Inclusive America history.com 
A Dream Delivered: The Lost Letters of Hawkins Wilson ancestry.com 
Music This video of Maroon 5 performing "Nobody's Love" August 2020 for Stephen Colbert's The Late Show #PlayAtHome feels relevant in its lyrics and images of men with kids and fur babies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HMelmLQWEk

In the Mood for Mysteries

 

Historical fiction  Assembly of the Dead by Saeida Rouass 
The Business of Blood (Fiona Mahoney #1) by Kerrigan Byrne A Treacherous Trade (Fiona Mahoney #2) A Vocation of Violence (Fiona Mahoney #3 - October 11, 2022) 
A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong 
The Lady Sherlock Series (currently 6 titles) by Sherry Thomas 
The Lady Violet Mysteries (currently 6 with #7 this August) by Grace Burrowes 
20th-century fiction   Dead Dead Girls (Harlem Renaissance #1) by Nekesa Afia Harlem Sunset (Harlem Renaissance #2 - June 28, 2022) 
The Blanche White Series (4 titles) by Barbara Neely
Hither Page (Page & Sommers #1) by Cat Sebastian The Missing Page (Page & Sommers #2) 
Contemporary   The Lizzie Stuart Mysteries (5 titles) by Frankie Y. Bailey 
The Odelia Grey Mysteries (12 titles) by Sue Ann Jaffarian 
The Sharon McCone Series (30+ titles) by Marcia Muller 

Some Publishers & Authors Who Celebrate Pride All Year

 

Black Rose Writing 
Bold Strokes Books https://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/ 
Carina Press https://www.carinapress.com/shop/index.html 
OR Books https://www.orbooks.com/ 
PM Press https://pmpress.org/ 
Riverdale Avenue Books https://riverdaleavebooks.com/  
Three Fortnights Press https://www.shaiaugust.com/three-fortnights-press
Tuxbury Publishing LLC  
LGBTQ+ comics superheroes https://www.cbc.ca/kids/articles/10-rad-lgbtq-superheroes 
Prince George's County Memorial Library System search results for "LGBTQ" https://catalog.pgcmls.info/polaris/search/searchresults.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.3&type=Default&term=LGBTQ&by=KW&sort=RELEVANCE&limit=TOM=bks&query=&page=0&searchid=1


Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, A Resource By and For Transgender Communities Edited by Laura Erickson-Schroth, with Foreword by Kai Cheng Thom 
Unprotected: A Memoir by Billy Porter 

TJ Alexander Shai August Alexandria Bellefleur Sarina Bowen Alyssa Cole Jayce Ellis Talia Hibbert Kosoko Jackson Claire Kann Janelle Monae Cat Sebastian Anne Shade K. Talley Cecilia Tan Alexi Venice 
Visit your local library in-person or online to discover more fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, comics, audiobooks, plus magazines, newspapers and so much more reading that's available to borrow for free!  
Help self-pubbed, indie, and small press authors who write about the broad spectrum of sexuality, sexual orientation, and identity by choosing "read now" titles on Book Review Nation, NetGalley, and Edelweiss, then reading them and posting honest, respectful reviews on your favorite socials and review sites. Recommend great reads to your bookish friends, book club, and suggest them to your local library. (Most have a form on their websites.)   
And of course, when budgets allow, please purchase books by and about LGBTQUIA+ people and characters from your favorite booksellers. 
You are worthy and loved just as you are. 
Happy reading!